Lessons Learned in Styling a Bookcase

When we built this house, I always told my husband that the full wall in the living room should be built-ins. I had dreams of a place for all of my books and putting together displays.

And then, just over three years ago – my dream came true. We have beautiful built-in bookcase that I so love and appreciate. (I know, very dramatic

But, the truth is, I found it really hard to pull them together.

This is actually my third try.

But this time, I put more thought into it and I am quite happy with the results.

To show the difference between where I was and where I am, here is a comparison.

I realize it wasn’t terrible before, and I actually really liked it when I first finished it.

Which, of course, leads me to believe I might really hate this version in a few months as well. But, one step at a time.

One of the main things that bothered me was that it was just too cluttered – something I am finding everywhere. I am liking a little less, not stark, but just a little less. It all became a little clearer to me when I worked on one shelf when I shared my interchangeable art.

Did you see that there are even some sections with just one thing? That is quite an accomplishment for me!

So, I thought I would share some things I figure out to make this work better.

To start with – I completely emptied the bookcase.

As in all things – Purge!

We didn’t have a place for our books for so long – they were just in boxes in the basement. When we had the bookcases, I believed I needed to pull them ALL in the bookcase. But the reality is that so many of those books were already read and not to be read again, no longer of interest to anyone or no longer relevant.

So, we purged.

A lot of books are being boxed (yes, they are still in a pile in the foyer, just out of view) and delivered to our town’s Resource Center (i.e. we don’t have a library or rights to a library – criminal, I realize).

Starting with less books, made it a whole lot easier.

There were a lot of books that we still wanted but were worn out, paper back, really small or just not overly pretty. That is where the double cabinet in the center comes in. That whole area is now empty of all the other junk (and there was a lot – and all of that is on my dining room table and on tomorrow’s to-do list) and now filled with easily accessible books.

Oh, and a lot of my decorating books have already made there way up to the office which just works better.

So, my first lesson – not every book needs to be in the bookcase!

You Can Move The Shelves!

Do you see all those holes in the sides of each section? Yeah, those are there so that you can move the shelves. Something that I never did.

Somehow, I was convinced they should just stay where they were.

Well, no more – I came up with a pattern of different heights while still keeping it symmetrical.

I also decided to remove one shelf from each section.. This gave me the ability to create some taller sections to use things like framed prints – which is one of my favorite parts.

Lesson number two – you don’t need to leave the bookcase shelves the way they were on the first day.

Not Every Section Needs to Be Filled

I have a tendency to put layers on layers in decorating. But as I said, it was all feeling like too much. This is not complicated – leave some sections with just one item – an item that can stand on its own.

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Comments

I love it! We don’t have book shelves except a small one in the office that really does hold all books. I would LOVE to have a place to display and view family mometos and found treasures. I totally love horizontal surfaces. I doubt I would be as disciplined as you are by editing carefully. looks soooo amazing.

Oh it looks simply beautiful. I like the way some of the shelves are on an even line and some are not. The bottom ones add a kind of uniformity but the top are uneven but it isn’t haphazard. I’d be ashamed to show you our bookshelves All of my friends are lined up on them, and you are right , I should try moving them. What I really need is another book shelf. I really like what you’ve done.

Your bookcases look GREAT! I too have been a “layer upon layer” kind of decorator until the past few months. I too am finding that I like the look of less. As for my bookcases in my family room, I was never happy with them…so I took them out! I could never find the right look for them! Maybe I’ll give them another try…Thanks for the lessons! Life to the full! Melissa

They look great both ways but I do love the new look! I recently styled my new office bookcases and I find that I am constantly tweaking. It’s fun though, isn’t it? I love having all my “treasures” out where I can see them now. Great tips by the way! I think I struggle most with not filling every single space!
-Shelley

Thank you for the thought to NOT put all the books in my bookcase! I keep looking at my bookcase thinking that
it was too full of books but thinking well it is a bookcase. Will purge today! Love all your posts. Thank you for sharing.
Cindy

I adore your style! The soft colors combined with plenty of places for the eye to “rest” is fantastic. After first seeing your bookcases I told my husband that I wanted to enclose the dining room (open to the living room) so that I had a wall big enough to do the same. Sadly, he informed me I’ll have to use the walls we have………

I have always loved the way you styled your bookcase and I love it even more now! Great job!
We have two walls of floor to ceiling built-ins in my husband’s study and they make me absolutely crazy! One wall is plenty to style but two without the advantage of much covered cabinet space makes me dizzy. He works from home so he’s constantly piling things on some of them, so instead of re-styling and adjusting I just close the door to the study so I don’t have to look at them – ha! After seeing your beautiful shelves, I’m getting the itch to go in there and spiff them up — maybe when he’s out of town, though so he won’t move or pile anything on them for a day or two.

I love how you put all the decor together. The after is much better than the before! I agree, books get read but for the most part they don’t get read again so why keep them unless they’re needed for reference. We have a rule in the house…we only check books out from the library! I know it’s nuts, but I got so tired of selling books for a fraction of what they cost. We have to keep things moving in our little house or we would become bombarded with books or what have you!

I have zero tips or tricks. I find this part of decorating so hard. I’m continuing to purge (I’ll just have to sneak some of the books out when my hubby isn’t looking!) and continuing to shop my attic! Great post, Laura!

I just love your bookcases, and in fact had saved the picture of them and have been using them as my inspiration for built-ins in my living room! Right now we have the estimates and just have to pick which one will build them!
I loved the way they were before and I love them after!

You did a great job! I recognize a tray that I almost bought from Target today. I have an enormous full wall bookcase in my living room. I painted it and restyled it once. This post is inspiring me to take another shot at it. You can see it on my twitter background…. The shelves are all very slim, it’s so annoying. Plus we have a ton of books.

oh I am so happy with your room…trying not to be envious! Love the whole wall!
My style is trying to hold back too! I am learning! I love to have a lamp on shelves and also hang art even on the seams of shelving out of the case!
But you have outdone yourself! what a beautiful room!

Great tips!! I think the staggered shelf sizes makes the biggest difference. It’s more visually pleasing to the eye!! I have bookshelves on either side of my fireplace/tv so I am always looking for examples of how to style them. Thanks for sharing your tips!!

Good, helpful principals. The note to tie things together with a color/subject theme was particularly helpful. That’s a rule for making a good painting, too. When you add a color to a painting, you want to put it in at least one other place in the painting. Our brains will automatically search for something new (color, shape, etc) to appear elsewhere in the view.

You did a great job at redoing your bookcases. It can get a little frustrating when trying to look at it as a whole. I did just one shelf at a time so I didn’t get overwhelmed. I just did a post on my blog Anne’s Attic – Design http://fulcolbaxia.wordpress.com on revamping my bookcase. Check it out.
Jo, XXOO

Thank you for this! I am staging our house for a (god willing) quick sale and have always struggled with my built-ins. And…the funny thing is they are part of what I fell in love when we bought this place 10 years ago!! Am about to take your pictures as inspiration as I tackle them one last time. Thankfully, our new home has them too!!!